Robots are cool

I’ve finally got my new Sony S3XP laptop to the stage where I can use it as my main machine. Although it arrived on Tuesday, it’s taken this long just to get the main components working the way they should under linux. What a hassle – nothing has been easy! Somewhere in there I had a day of mixed emotions:

In the morning I finally resigned myself to the fact that, without the correct driver, my Nvidia graphics card wasn’t going to display widescreen and I would need to wait quite a while until the driver was released. Not cool, I got the laptop for the screen. So I decide to bail and go kitesurfing with Ross because it’s north-westerly and there’s swell. I was obviously far too excited because as we collected our kites from the shop I realised that I’ve forgotten loads of stuff, including my harness. Bugger. Once we’re back at the flat, I suddenly realise that I’ve lost my wallet. After a bit of a think, it dawns on me that I drove away from my flat (the first time) with it on the roof. Cock, cock, cock. I’m pissed off – not just because my wallet is missing, but because this isn’t the first time I’ve driven away with stuff on the roof. We bugger about looking for it for a while, but have to write it off and head back to the shop to cancel my cards (where Stuart wasn’t making the situation much more pleasant by taking the piss – completely fair play, really). Well annoyed, we head to the beach.

Once we’re there, it’s looking great. Small, but nice surf and cross shore wind. Once we launch though, it’s not so good. I’m on a little inflatable and Ross is on a bigger foil. I spend the first five minutes cursing myself for putting up too small a kite, and then spend the next ten minutes watching Ross getting teabagged all over the place as a big squall comes in. Just as well I put up a small kite. Once the squall has passed the wind doesn’t improve and I give serious thought to giving up kitesurfing forever (but that could fill a whole other post). We pack it up and head home, no less pissed off. I’ve had a shite day.

But then things change. I go the police station in Edinburgh, just in case – they’ve got my wallet! I check my email as soon as I get in and have two emails from another Nidia 6200 owner who tells me that the drivers for our cards were released a few hours ago. Woohoo! All of a sudden I’m totally hyper and end up finding it quite a struggle to get to sleep. Although I’m sure it hasn’t come across in this lame prose, it really was a wild day of peaks and troughs. Ross – thanks for putting up with my nonsense :)